Waterfalls, Memories, and Prisoners
by She-Poe
Summary: Kidnapped again? But this time she's not alone. She brought a certain hot headed Fire Prince along for the ride. Go read RITML... because this is undergoing severe! revision. Just sayin.
1. Not Being Able To Bend

Chapter One

The sun rose silently over the gently rolling hills. Appa yawned loudly, waking the kids. "Appa, come on!" Aang whined sleepily. "Its only sun-up... can't we sleep a little longer?"

Appa pawed at the grass, stretched, and gladly fell back asleep. Toph, who had barely woken up to begin with, rolled over in her earth tent and snored softly. Sokka never woke up, but turned onto his side in his sleeping bag and continued dreaming sweet dreams of things that only Sokka could think of. Katara, on the other hand, lay awake on the sweet smelling grass looking at the gently blushing clouds. So many thoughts swirled through her mind that a migraine had been on the verge of forming for hours. She had woken with a start at about midnight, due to a terrible nightmare. She shuddered at the thought of it.

Suddenly, she had the strangest urge to water bend. Katara picked herself up off the ground and walked to the top of the hill that Appa had been sleeping on. She silently looked over her shoulder at Aang, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko. They all appeared to be sound asleep, so she continued over the hill to the small, muddy creek that flowed slowly across the land.

With barely any effort she waterbended a small amount of clear water out of the creek and waved it over her head. Half heartedly, she threw the water at a giant sycamore tree, scattering a flock of Parrot-Canaries. "Katara?" A voice said.

She turned to look at the tall, thin firebender standing behind her. Recollecting her dream she crossed her arms and scowled, "What do you want?"

"I know how it feels, not being able to bend, I've known ever since the eclipse." Zuko started.

"I can _BEND_ just fine!" Katara exclaimed, turning her head sharply toward him.

Zuko shook his head. "Thats not what I meant. Your a great bender- but I know a place where there is more water... actually its a waterfall and I-" nerves knotted his stomach. "I could show you where it is if – you- you-would want- "

Katara rolled her eyes. "Stop it!" she yelled annoyed. "I'll go with you if you just shut up!"

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Hi guys!

I hope you liked it... its kind short, but I only had a little bit of time to write... Don't worry it will get more Zutarian later. I have a long weekend to write....!

DISCLAIMER: Snow Days Rule, But they don't make me own AVATAR!


	2. I thought You'd Drown

_Disclaimer- I don't own Avatar_

**Chapter 2**

Zuko led the young waterbender through the dense forest right off the planes. There was s distinct smell of the coming autumnal season in the late summer air. The sun left splotches of light on the grassy forest floor. Suddenly Katara heard a roar of falling water. Her lips parted in a gasp as she gazed upon a magnificent waterfall. She looked over at Zuko, her mouth still ajar. Her lips curled into a beautifully, childish grin as she ran into the pool beneath the water and bended a water orb all around her. She felt like a caged bird being set free when the water sprayed her face and shoulders.

Zuko had welcomed himself to a spot on the grass and rested his arms on his knees. He found himsel looking at the waterbender carefully. Uncle had told him that knowing the four elements would help him firebend. Thats why he was looking at her, at least thats what he told himself. He watched her arms as they circled over her head, flowed from her left side to her right and back again. He watched her feet as the moved smoothly- almost rhythmically, beneath the sparkling water. In a split second she disappeared under the water. Zuko jumped up and yelled her name. She didn't come back up. He hastily jumped into the water, it was frigid. Despite the water, he swam out to the middle of the pool where Katara had stood only moments ago. He dunked his head under water and opened his eyes. Nothing.

Suddenly, something shot up out of the water, three inches from his face. Zuko quickly surfaced to find a giant tower of water, revolving in front of him. Katara sat nonchalantly on top. The waterbender flung her hands in Zuko's direction and all the water dropped into a giant wave. Zuko gasped, intaking a gulp of water before being surrounded by icy water. It took all of his strength to swim back up to the surface. He coughed against the warm air.

"What did you do!" Katara scolded. Her voice sounded solicitous, but she was definitely angry.

"You went under," Zuko replied, annoyed. "I thought you'd drown."

"Well gee, thanks. **I'm a master waterbender.** I think I can swim." She yelled as a matter of factly.

Zuko looked away from her and swam back to shore. As much as Katara hated him, she couldn't help but feel bad for yelling at him. She gave herself some time to cool down, nearly crying in the process. "Okay."She said to herself aloud. "Just go apologize and your mind will be free of guilt. And you can get on with you life." Katara dove head first into the water and headed for the bank. She rose out of the water so beautifully that Zuko actually thought she was from the spirit world. He quickly looked away. "That waterbender is nothing but trouble." He thought silently.

"Zuko," Katara started. "I- I just wanted to say, s- sorry for getting angry at you. You could've gotten hurt or worse. And I don't need that on my head!"

Zuko scowled. "I didn't do it for you, you know. The Avatar needs a waterbending teacher. And your all we have."

Katara folded her arms. "Well, Aang needs a firebending teacher and _your_ all we have." She replied, trying to sound more angry than she did. She sat down beside him and began plucking at the grass. As much as she hated him, she couldn't stay angry. At anyone. Not even _him_. "My mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid." She said accidentally. Zuko looked over at her,his usually hard face was soft, almost understanding. And if she wasn't mistaken, Katara thought she saw a sad, yet realizing sparkle in his eyes (Yes, even his bad one). "What?" She asked, not really expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry... I know-" he started.

That, those few words, were enough to send Katara into orbit. "You 'know'? You'll NEVER know! Your mother is part of the Fire Nation. You have her! Mine is gone, forever!"

"My mother was taken away from me a long time ago! My father is a monster. The last time I saw her- she told me to never forget who I was. But I don't think I ever knew to start with." He retaliated.

Katara covered her mouth. "Zuko-" She put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry... I had no idea."

"Yes , you did. Thanks for listening back in Ba Sing Se,"He said rising. "Just, leave me alone." He sprinted across the shallow part of the lake and back into the forest. Katara quickly fallowed him. She ran behind him, weaving around trees.

"Zuko Stop!" She yelled

"Stop fallowing me!" He yelled back.

"Stop running away!"

Zuko angrily turned and firebended at Katara. The Flames just barely licked her cheek. But burned into her skin. She fell to the ground, holding her face in her hands, tears streaming down her chin.

* * *

**HI guys!**

**Yep you thought right, Zuko DID tell Katara about his mother in Crossroads of Destiny, But, like me, when Katara gets angry- she forgets some stuff. Thats why Zuko got all upset by what she said.**

_-Sami!_


	3. Who You're Dealing With

Chapter 3

Zuko had run away for one reason, and one reason only; he didn't want a water tribe peasant to see him upset. He silently stopped to see if she was coming after him. When he saw she wasn't he let all his anger out, punching a tall oak tree, setting it on fire. "Stupid peasant!" He yelled, reverting back to how he used to think of her. "You know nothing! I'm human!"

Several dark figures knelt in the thick tree branches watching the fire prince. They would attack when the time came, but until then, they would gather information; things they would later use; Valuable weapons against him. Thats how they were trained. That was their job.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Katara knelt by the lake with a glowing water glove pressed on her face. She knew she would be scarred, but she still never removed her hand. _Maybe_, She thought, _It'll heal the scars in my heart too? _It wasn't until she was almost back at camp that she remembered that she hadn't seen Zuko for hours. She didn't want to be worried, but she couldn't help it. In the back of her mind she knew that there was something wrong. These kinds of forests, dark and dense, were bound to be full of robbers and people who hated Fire Nation- People like Jet. She stopped abruptly and pivoted in place. Then sprinting- nearly running- back to the lake.

She didn't have time,nor the patience, to wade through the water. Quickly she froze her feet and surfed across the top. Katara let her feet carry her around the trees, running between sun and shade on the twig-littered forest floor. Her heart pounded in her chest with worry and anticipation. _Where was he? Was he alright? Why did she care? _All these thoughts raced through her mind so quickly that she didn't even notice the ever present feeling of eyes on the back of her neck. All she could do was keep her head up and run forward.

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Zuko was still fuming. The warm, humid air clung to his throat as he breathed deeply, trying to calm down. He lay on his back in a warm patch of sun, which, by now was directly over head. Zuko knew that the Avatar would be wondering where he and Katara were. (That is- if Katara hadn't already returned... burned as badly as she was) A twinge of regret made him sit up. . Now it was their time. He was weak, vulnerable. Now was their time to strike. They jumped down from the trees, trapping the price in a thick rope net. Zuko tried to firebend , but the rope was covered in a thick, foul smelling liquid that must have been flame retardent. "Release me immediately!" He yelled, grasping the net. "You don't know who your dealing with!"

"On the Contrary, Prince Zuko. We know Much about you." Said a tall, slender mad dressed in earth kingdom attire. He smirked. "We even know about the Water tribe peasant that will be arriving in...3...2...1..."

"Zuko!" Katara yelled angrily. Her eyes drank in the scene before her in seconds. Four shadowy Earthbenders stood with arrows pointed to her.

"Keep quiet and they won't fire." Assured the man. He swooped his hands across the net held between the arrows.

"Let her go!" A voice yelled. Katara flung her head in the direction to find the speaker, a defeated Zuko, laying on the ground wrapped up in a net like a baby wrapped in a blanket.

The Man smiled evily as a summer breeze lifted the hair from Katara's shoulders. "Very well. Step slowly back wards. One foot at a time." Katara willingly followed orders, her heart skipping every other beat. She felt sick to her stomach as the man yelled "FIRE!" She felt the net wrapping tightly around her as she hit the ground. She felt a sharp pain in her back then, a heavy drowsiness fell over her.

* * *

YEAH...I wasn't even sure how this chapter would play out. It might get revised. I Might end up liking it. I Dunno!

Oh, yeah... since Katara and Zuko were separated I added the breaks to get their perspectives on the situations.

This is definately not one of the most discriptive Chapters, but it gets the point across. Please Review, tell me if you like it, love it , or hate it.

DISCLAIMER: yeah, I own not Avatar, but I do have a dog!

P.S.

In case you didn't notice, the individual chapters are peices of dialouge, spoken by either Katara Or (As it has been so far-) Zuko.


	4. No Right!

Chapter 4

Slowly, Katara lifted her heavy eyelids. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, but when they did, she wanted to fall back into unconsciousness. The sparse light came from a small barred window on the stone wall opposite her(if about four feet from her could be considered opposite). Her arms were cuffed together and chained above her head so high that her toes just barely danced on the floor. Katara wriggled in her chains, trying to loosen them. She cringed in frustration and exhaled loudly.

"Welcome back," Zuko said sincerely, looking across the cell at her.

Katara turned her head quickly away and scowled silently. Her arms ached as she tried,and failed, to free herself again.

"Whats wrong with you?" Zuko asked annoyed.

Katara's eyes widened in shock and instantaneously narrowed in hatred. "This is your fault!" She yelled. "You burned me!" Her blue eyes bore holes into his gold ones. He looked away embarrassed and regretful. "I'll NEVER forgive you for this!" The waterbender carried on, trying to point to the small, swirling scar on her left cheek. The water-healing had gotten rid of most of it, but there was still about an inch of scarred flesh burned into her face. "How could you! How _**dare**_ you! You had no _right_ to burn me! Just because you were ang-"

There was a loud thump on the outside of the cell. "Quiet down in there!" A voice yelled angrily.

"We're almost at Ti Kao." Another voice chimed in. "We'll be rid of them soon enough."

Inside the cell Katara whispered, "Thanks a lot, jerk."


	5. Lets Play a Game

_Disclaimer- I don't own it, I am just a fan!_

**Chapter 5**

The cell, which had actually been part of a moving cart, squealed to a stop. The same man that captured them back at the waterfall unlocked and opened the door, flooding cell with light. Zuko squinted, being deprived of light for so long was starting to get to him. Two men dressed in armor stepped up into the cell and lifted the chains off of the big iron hooks. Katara thrashed around. "If you don't let me go I'll-" she started, then had a thick piece of wool tied around her mouth.

Zuko shot her a look. "Shoulda kept quiet" he mouthed silently, moments before his mouth was tied shut. They were lead like animals out of the cart, behaving perfectly, silent. They saw they were parked about a mile away from a busy looking town, and figured thats where they were headed. Were they wrong!

More chains were tightened around their ankles as they were sat on their knees on the right side of the cart, the hot sun beating down on their backs. Placed shoulder to shoulder, they used that simple touch to make sure they were both still alive. If Katara leaned to her right, Zuko did the same. If Zuko looked in one direction, Katara( Who normally would have looked in the other) found herself looking there too. In all honestly, she was afraid. A feeling she rarely felt, and in feeling that, it made her even more insecure.

"So," one of the men said, "How long have you two been together?"

Katara's eyes shot open, so did Zuko's. "What!" They both wanted to yell, their cheeks red with embarrassment.

The other man punched his shoulder. Rubbing his arm, the first man apologized,"What, I thought the scars were some sort of weird ritual?"

The other, taller, man punched the shorter man again. "Don't be nice to them!" He scolded. "They're prisoners!"

Obviously, being really mean wasn't in Shortie's disposition. He shrugged and waited for Tall Dude to walk around the other side of the cart before loosening the cloth and whispering, "You have five minutes." Then, he too walked around the cart to engage Tall Dude in a pointless five minute conversation.

"If I wasn't tied up, I would have hit you over the head already!" Katara whispered, clenching her hands into fists behind her back. "Is that what you wanted to accomplish by burning me? To mark me as _yours_?" She tried to exaggerate by jerking her shoulder towards where the man was standing.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked, partially knowing the answer.

"Oh, okay, lets play dumb! Whats wrong with people thinking we're married or in love or who knows what else! Do you see anything wrong with that? I sure don't!" She took a second to breathe and started right back with the insults. "I mean, I love having people think that you and I are an item... thats just the best thing that could ever happen to me! Now I see that your no different than I am! Your not cruel or inhuman at all. I don't hate you. In fact, I love you! Are you happy now!"

Silence hung in the air. Zuko had noticed that at the end of her lengthy speech, Katara seemed oddly sincere. "No." He murmured quietly. "Be honest with me. For once, don't lie to me and tell me what is going through your waterbending head."

"You mean that didn't cover it?" Katara asked, slightly surprised.

Just then Shortie came around the side of the cart. "I couldn't keep him busy long enough." He apologized, retying the wool over their mouths. "Look angry... I told him I was going to mock you guys." Katara moved less than a centimeter away from Zuko. Just far enough that they wouldn't touch. She would rather be dead and not know it, than know she was alive... and next to him. Luckily, she wouldn't be there for long.

Now, all three of the men revealed themselves. Tall Dude grabbed Katara's arm and helped her baby-step 20 feet away from where Zuko sat. "You life is in _his_ hands. As long as he tells us what we want to hear, you'll be fine." He loosened the gag and nodded for Shortie to loosen Zuko's.

"Lets play a game."

"What are you doing?" Zuko yelled angrily. Tall Dude hit Katara square on the back, winding her badly. She fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath, but was violently pulled back to her feet." Zuko's face softened. His heart skipped a beat. "Why are you doing this?" Tall Dude kicked the back of Katara's knee, making her collapse. He again, pulled her back up into a standing position.

"Get it?" He asked.

"What do you want to know?"

"Where is Ursa?" The well dressed man asked. He held up a hand to prevent Tall Dude from beating Katara.

Zuko's heart sank. "I- don't know." He admitted. The well dressed man vehemently lowered his hand, simultaneously Tall Dude planted a punch on Katara's shoulder, throwing her backwards. Zuko saw her breathing heavily and cringed himself. "What was that for?"

"Tell us!"

"I Don't know!"

The man pulled a knife and held it at Katara's throat. "Will you tell us now?"

"I'm telling you I don't know!" The tip of the blade was pressed into Katara's neck. A drop of blood ran down her neck, onto her shoulder and down to the neckline of her shirt, staining it crimson. "Stop it!" he pleaded. "I really, don't know where she is! I swear!"

"I don't believe you!"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have let you throw that second punch."

"I think he's telling the truth," Shortie said. "He's of no use to us. Neither of them. Lets just let them go and find someone who can help us."He unchained Zuko and waited for Tall Dude to let go of Katara. Once he did, he used the coward's way of victory and kicked her while she was down. Then they piled into the wagon and rode off towards town.

Only once they were gone did Zuko spring up and run over to Katara. She tried to get up, but collapsed. Katara put a hand on Zuko's shoulder, asking for his support. In a wheezing breath she said, "I really hate you."

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**You Like?**

**I figured I'd make up for the short chapter yesterday (or the day before?)**

**The title for this one came from someone else's dialogue (I had no Idea what to name these guys, so I went with the sokka approach and made up totally crazy stuff)**

**You may be wondering: **_Will Ursa play a big part in this story?_** My answer for you is... Maybe! I add them as I write them, sometimes stuff happens and it goes off and waits to be written about on another story...**

**This chapter was mainly written to show that Zuko does have a heart and he does care about Katara... STAY TUNED, MY PEEPS!  
**

-_Sami_


	6. I'll Never Forget That

**Chapter 6**

Zuko slowly stood up, the young, injured waterbender clinging to his arm. He could see her fighting to keep her feet planted firmly on the ground. In a small gesture of kindness Zuko put an arm around her waist to help keep her up right.

Suddenly Katara pulled away from him. What was he doing? "Get off of me!" She gasped. Instantly, she was thrown into a fit of violent coughing. Zuko caught her before she collapsed back to the ground and gently sat her down on the dry grass. His eyes opened wide as she pulled her hand away from her mouth, revealing specks of blood. She looked up at him with fear in her blue eyes.

"Katara-" Zuko said, breathless with fright. "We gotta get you some help," he said picking her up in his arms. Tears started flowing from the girl's eyes as Zuko carried her the mile into town. She was surprisingly lighter than he expected. "Don't cry-" He told her.

"Dad?" She asked confused.

Zuko wanted to laugh, but couldn't make himself. "No, I'm... Zuko."

"Oh," Katara replied, "Okay." A wide, childish smile broke across her face. "You're warm."

Zuko made himself run faster. Something was wrong, he could feel it. She wasn't just hurt, she was sick. He'd never seen her so weak. Even when they fought he knew she was extremely strong. And seeing her this way, made him feel sick.

When Zuko finally reached the part of town where all the shops were, it was night fall. Eyes fell upon him from all directions. He felt like a freak show, being watched and pointed at by silent spectators. "Ma'am," Zuko asked an elderly woman, "is there a healer, doctor, anything?" The woman pointed a long, slender finger to a small hut. "Thank you," Zuko bowed shallowly, keeping the water tribe girl in his arms.

Zuko walked steadily through the purple curtains, letting them glide over his shoulders. A woman in a dark brown robe looked at him from under her hood. "What happened?" She asked, walking around the stone table in the center of the room. "Lay her there." The hooded woman motioned toward the table.

'_Her voice..._' Zuko though as he put Katara on the table. _ 'Sounds so familiar...' _Slowly, the bitter sweet smell of heated glue gained Zuko's attention. "Whats that?" He asked. The woman gave him jerk of her head, pretty much telling him that it wasn't any of his business. She walked over to the table and put her hands over Katara's ribs. She then, gently illuminated them with subtle firebending. Zuko watched in amazement as the fire actually _healed_ her. _'It takes a special bender to do that_.' Then suddenly, it hit him. '_Mom_!' The thought must have escaped his lips, for the woman glared at him. "Is it you?"

No reply.

"Are you my mother?" Zuko stared at her.

"Leave. Now," the shrouded figure commanded.

"No," the stubborn prince refused.

"I have to bandage your girlfriend here, so unless you want to see her-"

"God, No!" Zuko exclaimed with red blooming on his face again. He stepped back through the silk curtains into the adjoining room. '_Why do people keep doing that?_' he wondered. But than again why not? And what about that woman? Was she really his mother? If so she'd changed. But so had he. ** Okay, Zuko's thoughts are making me confused too ** Just as he was getting into even deeper thought, the woman came into the room. Her hands were clasped in front of her gracefully, then she lifted one hand and pushed her hood from her eyes.

"I like to look people in the eye when I tell them bad news," she said solemnly. When she saw Zuko's expression she changed her face to a small smile. "And I like to look my son in the eye to tell him good news."

"Mom, is it really you?"

The woman nodded and pulled the Firelady's headpiece from the folds of her robe. "Listen, son, that water tribe girl is in there, she told me everything. You really like her, don't you?"

"No. I don't think so? Maybe? Yes," Zuko admitted. "I guess I do?"

"She's fine, you know. Go on in and talk with her." She looked at her son. She hadn't even noticed his scar until now. "Zuko- did, did you get that in battle?" Zuko shook his head. "Your father did it to you. Didn't he?" Her eyes softened. "No, we needn't sulk on the past. Go."

Zuko silently stepped into Katara's room. She lay gazing at the ceiling, her mind completely clear. "Katara," Zuko started. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault, I just wanted to help, I had no idea, I really didn't!"

Katara sat up easily and tried to calm a nearly hysterical Zuko. "Its okay," she chided.

"I just wanted-"

"Zuko!" Katara raised her voice at him for the first time in a while, but this time,instead of pushing him away, she pulled him close to her in a warm embrace. When she withdrew she whispered, "I could have died. You saved my life. And I'll never forget that."

Zuko smiled at her, feeling his mother's on the back of his neck. "That woman," Katara said, "Call me crazy, but she reminded me of you."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me. She's my mom."

* * *

**So???**

**Okay, next chapter- The mysterious 'Dream'... You won't be wondering for long mah peeps! I get outta school early this friday so, booyah! No later than this monday!**

**P.S. I thought I owed you guys some pure Zutarian Love!**

**Yes, there was more dialogue to this chapter, I fooled yah didn't I! Ya thought that I'm make Ursa go *POOF*! **

_-Sami_


	7. You Are

_I wanna thank all of my readers and reviewers. You guys rock! Thanks for puttin' up with my spelling and punctuation! _(-^_^-)

_Its always fun shocking you guys!_

_Disclaimer- I don't own A:TLA. If I did there would be no need for Zutarian Fan Fiction._

**Chapter 7**

Ursa stood in the doorway, gazing happily at her son. She had so much to tell him, so much she wanted to know. But right now, he was happy. She had often wondered what he would look like all grown up. At first, she didn't recognize him; his voice had changed, he'd grown, and then there was the scar. It sent shivers up her spine to imagine her little boy being scarred that badly, on his face. Though, it didn't seem to affect him much. She smiled to herself; it was a sad smile. She'd missed him so much, and when he found her, she wasn't the most important woman in his life anymore.

…....................................................................

Zuko sat on the edge of the hard stone platform, oddly, he felt at home. "You know," Katara's voice spoke out. "We still have to find our way back to the rest of the group."

"I know, but you're still hurt. You need your rest. And I want to talk to my mother," he said calmly, looking into the waterbender's deep blue eyes. Zuko, for a split second, thought back to her long-winded speech; how, at the end when she said 'In fact, I love you!'. How her voice had quivered with sincerity; how she couldn't look him in the eyes afterwards.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Katara said, drawing back from him several inches. She pulled her legs up in front of her and hugged them against her chest. Silence hung in the air for a moment (a nervous, shy silence that deafened the teens). Ursa sensed the tension and scuttled into the room quickly. She asked Zuko to step out for just a second.

"Fine, but no stories from when I was a baby," he warned jokingly.

Ursa put a warm hand on Katara's shoulder, brining a tear to the young girl's eye. _She's just like mom used to be. _"He's harmless, I'm sure."

"Harmless, when he wants to be! You should have seen him when he was Mr. Ponytail!" Katara laughed. Zuko's mother joined in hesitantly. "He was down right evil! Well, I guess there's good in everybody!" She giggled slightly. "Or maybe he had too much hot air getting to his brain when he had that bald head of his!"

"Bald!?" Ursa put her hand up to her mouth in shock.

"Yeah," Katara said, relaxing a bit. "He shaved his head after he was burned. I guess. I'd always thought he was a monster, until recently." This time her voice sounded firm, unmoving with neither laughter nor sadness. She cleared her throat, trying to get her happy young girl voice back. "I'm glad he found you."

Ursa forced a smile. "Your mother..."

"She died, a long time ago."

"Oh. I see."

…................................................................

_What could they possibly be talking about?_ Zuko wondered from the next room. It was one of the many thoughts that raged through his mind. How were they going to get outta there? What if he really liked Katara? What if she didn't like him back? What if she _did_? He leaned against the warm wall of the hut, breathing shallowly. The firebender had done something that he thought he would never get to do; fall in love. Well, now that he had admitted it to himself, there was one person left to tell. But how was he going to go about doing that?

….............................................................

Katara and Ursa had been laughing so hard, that they hadn't noticed Zuko's scarred face nosing into the room. "Hey!" Katara laughed, "Thats uncool!" She laughed harder as she saw the prince standing with half his body in the room. "You shouldn't be spying!" Then she waved him inside, "Come on in."

Zuko shuffled into the room nonchalantly. The former firelady and a beautiful young girl welcomed him silently with smiles. "Zuko," Ursa started. "I've been wanting to ask you- both of you some questions. I want to know what happened in the years I was gone."

Katara looked at Zuko. He almost heard her say, 'You go first, I don't know what happened with you.' "Alright," he sighed. "At first, everything was good. Well, as good as it could have been. But a few months after I turned thirteen, I spoke out of place in a war meeting. Father challenged me to an Agni Ki **Excuse my spellin' peeps!** When I wouldn't fight him, he told me I would learn discipline. Then, he burned my face and banished me. For three years I looked for the Avatar. When I found him, I thought I'd get my honor back. I still don't have it. Then in Ba Sing Se, I was put into prison in Old Ba Sing Se," He quietly stole a glance at Katara; 'Your turn.'

"While we were there," she took over, "he told me about you. And I felt bad for him. I even offered to heal his scar with spirit water. Thats when Aang, he's the Avatar, showed up. And I had to leave. Later that day, Azula convince him to turn against me- us. And Azula attacked Aang. He almost died. Before I knew it, Zuko was at the Air Temple on his knees begging for forgiveness. He knew what he'd done was wrong, but I held Ba Sing Se against him, and hit him. When we finally gave in to him and let him be apart of our group, he seemed, I don't know, like a different person."

"Azula's still after us and Aang," Zuko added.

Ursa shook her head. "I should have known. That girl was always trouble. But I never thought she'd be that _demonic_." A warm summer wind blew through the open window, blowing the hair off of Katara's shoulders.

"The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, I suppose," she said. Zuko looked away. "Oh, no. Not all apples. Just some of them. The rotten ugly, deformed ones." The fireprince tried to quietly cover his scar with his hand. "No, I mean- the girl apples!" Katara's mouth was moving on its own. She kept fumbling her words, stuttering over sentences. In an attempt to comfort her new found best friend, she admitted, "I had a dream about you."

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

Zuko sat close to Katara back in Old Ba Sing Se. The moment seemed oddly perfect. She reached over to heal his scar. The spirit water glowed as it contacted the burned skin. Slowly, the scar disappeared. Katara jumped back. He looked so different... so prince-like. Just as he was about to say thank you, Azula appeared out of no where. She ordered him to kill her. Like a slave, he obeyed without hesitation. He ran after her at full force.

"But I just gave you your face back!" Katara yelled through tears. She water whipped him in the head. That only made him angry. He firebended at her angrily with intent to kill.

She stumbled backwards, falling over a green crystal. "You shouldn't have trusted me," Zuko said just before he burned her to a crisp.

''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"Okay, never mind," Katara stated shortly. The next thing she remembered after being burned was waking up with the moon over head. "Listen, Zuko. I trusted you. I even, told you what happened to my mother. Ha!- you've been around longer than Jet and Haru put together. I think I know enough about you to know that you're not a bad guy. And you _have_ earned your honor back. I'm a much harsher judge than your father- I can tell you that for sure. All you had to do to get his love was get the Avatar. To get mine, you had to be something more than just- a boy on a mission. You had to be yourself. You had to be good and true. And you are. Trust me, you are."

Zuko's heart pounded in his chest. She was careless with her words. She didn't know what she was saying. She didn't realize- she couldn't have. "You don't mean that," he stated simply, unable to find better words.

Katara took his hand. "Yes, I do," she muttered calmly. His hand was warm, hot even. Before she knew, her palm was sweating. His grasp was almost- _painful. _Suddenly she tore her hand away and looked at him with confusion in her eyes. "Y-you burned me. You burned me!"

"I'm sorry-" Zuko started, shocked by his own doing.

"Zuko! Why did you do that?" Ursa snapped, almost forgetting that her baby boy was now sixteen. "Let me see, Katara." Without breaking eye contact with the fireprince she held her hand out to his mother. '_I can't believe you burned me..._' That look seemed frozen on her face.

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**OOH! **

**Ha! You guys like? Sorry it took so long! Our computer ran out of mega bytes and we had to wait until the 4th of February for our Internet to reset. :-[ **

**Okay, I made the dream- not so good... I admit it.**

**Oh well!**

**Hmm... what'll happen next? Click the next button to find out!**

**Thats right I'm double teamin' you! Aren't I EVIL?!**


	8. Spoiled Prince

Chapter 8

"Katara, I'm sorry,"Zuko said stretching a hand out to touch her shoulder.

The waterbender looked at him with tears in her eyes as she moved away from him. "You... I trusted you and you... burned me! I knew I shouldn't have even associated with you! You- you- monster!"

"Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko yelled in rage. Ursa shrank back away from her son and Katara. They wouldn't hurt each other, she thought.

"Spoiled prince!"

"I hate you!"

"I can't believe I ever didn't hate you!" Katara folded her arms and turned away from the boy to her right. "I should have known you would have burned me again. Once wasn't enough, was it?"

Zuko swallowed his anger and calmly said, "That was an accident. I didn't want to hurt you. I'm just confused," he moved closer to her. "Look at me." Katara reluctantly tilted her head in his direction; her face was twisted in an angry scowl. "Katara... I am sorry. I didn't mean what I said before, and I hope you didn't mean what you said. But if you did; I understand."

"Don't try to- to- whatever your doing! Don't even try," Katara stood up and paced from one corner of the room to the other. Zuko followed her with his eyes; back and forth, back and forth. Over and over and over. By her twelfth pass, he felt dizzy in all senses of the word.

Suddenly he stood up and grabbed her wrist. "Stop."

"Let go. There aren't any pirates." She replied gravely. Silently she shifted her eyes to his scar and across his nose to his good eye. She looked him in the eye, searching for a lie. When she couldn't find one she allowed her face to soften. "Sorry," she murmured softly under her breath. "I can't do this." Violently, she pulled her wrist from his hand and sat back down on the stone table. "Leave."

Zuko stood by the table looking down at this girl. As confused as he was, he understood that she needed time to think. "Come one," his mother said quietly, rising. She walked over to the doorway, and waited for her son to follow. With one more glance at Katara, who refused to look at him, he calmly left the room.

As soon as the red curtains stopped swaying back and forth, Katara let herself fall into tears. Her shoulders jerked violently as she breathed heavily into her arms. 'This is wrong,' she scolded herself. 'You can't feel this way. You can't. Stop it. Now!' She knew no one, not even herself, would approve of her feelings toward him. 'Zuko... I-I- can't love you. But I do. And I know its wrong; I know its against the rules, but I think its time that I broke some rules. For me.' Quietly, she exhaled and pulled herself together. Though she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, she

still felt heavy. There was only one way to get rid of that feeling; and that was to admit to him that she didn't hat him. Sincerely, that she loved him.

**__________________________________________________________________________________**

**O.o**

**Are our two fave characters in the same predicament? Hmmm... who will let the cat outta the bag first? And how will they do it? Hey, I hope you liked it... sorry if it seems a bit off. I have a really bad cold and stayed home from school. Lemme know what you think! **

**P.S.**

**^_^ **

**All couples fight! Gotta keep it real!**


	9. And You?

_Disclaimer- I don't own ATLA!_

**NOTE:** _If you are afraid of Zutara or are allergic to love do not read!_

Chapter 9

A storm raged inside Katara as she silently sat on the big stone table in the center of a small, clean room. Her heart felt like rumbling thunder; her tears fell like pelting rain, and her emotions flipped over themselves like an unlucky ship in the middle of it all. Her mind was polluted with the pros and cons of what her heart told her. 'He can be sweet and honest and caring,' she told herself. 'But he's a real hothead sometimes,and he hurt me,' she reminded her heart. 'But he apologized and seemed serious.'

Gold light poured in through the open window, leaving a small warm patch of light on the floor. Katara allowed herself to walk over to the window and lean on the ledge. She dangled her long brown hair out so that it almost brushed the weeds growing alongside the building. She let a final tear fall onto the grass, then pushed herself away from the window. After recomposing herself, Katara shakily pulled back the deep red curtains that separated her room from the other.

Instantly, she felt both sets of eyes on her. They were staring her down cruelly, though they didn't mean to. This was the longest second of her life. She raised one foot and put in in front of the other until she was three feet from the two people who saved her life. Mother and son. So alike, yet so different. It was only then did she realize that she was staring right at Zuko- and that he was staring right back.

"I-" They started together.

"No, you-" simultaneously they blushed.

"Okay-" They continued to stutter.

"Listen," Zuko said alone. "I, really, think that- uhm, that I- kinda- and- uh-w-would you, possibly- no,no! Did you ever think about- you know- me?"

"Well, of course I have?" Katara answered, unsure of how to put all her emotions into words.

"And you?" Zuko finished quietly, reddening.

Katara felt her heart leap, both with excitement and nervousness. "O-oh," she said in a shuddering breath. Silently, she forced a smile, though she wanted to cry. "Zuko-"

He saw a tear coming to her eyes and turned away from her quickly. No, he wouldn't see her crack and shatter and break. And she wouldn't let herself do it in front of him. He was older- stronger than she was and she wasn't about to let him see her that way. With a deep breath, Zuko turned to look her in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make things awkward. Its just that, I really- really do like you and I think I can handle you saying 'no'."

Katara laughed quietly. "Yes," she whispered.

"What?" Zuko's eyes, which had been cast downward in shame, shot up.

"Zuko," She whispered, the sound of his name sending shivers up her spine. She'd never said his name that way before. "Yes,"She said louder, throwing her arms around his neck. He in turn, let his hands come to rest around her waist. They'd done it, each one feeling indescribable.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Don't Fear! This isn't the end. But if you like this 'ending' then you can stop reading now. (But please don't!) **

**Yeah, our second physical Zutara moment! (If you only counted the hugs)! Hey, I hope you liked! I hope it was up to what you guys were expecting. O.o I have huge state assessment tests all this week in writing. T-T. It sucks... ohwells! Kwa! The Zutarianess increases!  
**

_-Sami_


	10. NOTICE

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

**Hi Guys, my laptop's down... the motherboard crashed :-p I'm stuck with our old desktop in my sister's room. It doesn't have spell check or anything.... Blaug! Sorry, this isn't another chapeter. I gotta start over. JOY!**

_-Sami_


	11. Night Before

Chapter 10

Zuko held Katara tight in his arms. They were so close that they coyuld feel eachother's hearts racing in excitement, fear,amazement. Suddenly, Katara felt her body leap in a sob. It was only then that she remembered that there was someone else in the room besides her and Zuko. Quickly, she pushed away from him and they both blushed childishly. "I'm so sorry, ma'am. I should have asked permission before-"

"Katara, its alright. Things are different here. There are no rules- except for the obvious *Y'all know what I mean*. I want the best for you, both of you. Zuko," she said turning to him. "'Don't ever forget who you are.' Do you remember those words?"

Zuko nodded silently, trying not to show how badly he wanted to cry.

"Katara, follow your heart, it won't lie to you. Don't abandon something because you think its your duty to. I learned my lesson the hard way; and so did Zuko. In seeing you both here, together, I realized that the sacrifice I made was worth wile. Everything happens for a reason." She sighed deeply. 'What is this world coming to? Near-death situations, just to find love? Funny, it used to be so simple.'

Drinking in the awkwardness of the situation before them, both Zuko and Katara looked away from one another. The sun was setting, tonight was the night before the full moon. The full moon was something that Katara dreaded; she was at her strongest, and yet most vulnerable. Zuko disliked the full moon too; he had next to no powers. Neither one of them wanted to admit thier own weakness, especially to their once-thought-of enemy (and new found love! XD).

Katara could feel the power rushing through her body in the days leading up to the full moon, but only at night. She'd often woken up with the moon over head, unable to tear her eyes away. She gulped loudly at the thought of controlling another body, not being able to controll her actions. Every full moon she felt genuinely guilty. Why did that witch have to show her this power? _Why_? She wanted to fall back into Zuko's arms and cry until there wasn't any bendable water left in her own body.

In turn, Zuko could feel himself getting weaker. Unlike Katara, he'd known about the full moon's affect on him since he was young. Some how, though, he knew this moon would be different. He had a reason to fight for his strength, not to mention the fact that his family had been reunited. And he had an amazing girlfriend..._ 'girlfriend Did I just use that word?' _He thought_, 'Damn- Jun was right!' _

The sun was just barely peaking over the horizon now, sending a sickness through out both of their bodies. '_One more night.'_

_'One more night.'_

"I hate to kick you out, but, its getting late. I can't leave here until morning," Ursa said. "My house is in the aprtment building on Yin and Yang,,, Thats right; Yin and Yang. Ironic, yeah." She added, seeing the teens look at each other with confused looks. "Room 106. They key's on the table." She nodded toward the small end table beside a wicker chair. Zuko picked up the keys and smiled thanking his mother.

Katara walked beside Zuko, admiring the night sky. The street was lit beautifully; a warm flickering kind of light, like that of a candle. Silently, she moved closer to Zuko, enjoying his subtle warmth. The air had just the slightest chill, making it sharp and cool on the back of your throat if you breathed in too fast. Which is what Katara did when she felt Zuko's arm on her shoulder. _'Wow_!' She thought, wanting to jump off the ground. Suddenly, she felt that sad, uncertain feeling inside her; the feeling of the full moon. She fought hard not to think about blood bending. Finally, she said, "Zuko, I have to tell you something." Quickly, she grabbed his arm and stopped in her tracks, just under one of the street lamps.

"Sure."

Katara sighed. "During the full moon-" she started, hesitently. "I have this - power. Its more like a curse really. I can controll the blood in someone's body. I can make them do anything. I don't want to hurt you; but when I'm in that mode- I don't see anything. All I can do is bend. I'm scared... I really am."

Zuko saw the sadness in this girl's eyes. Without thinking, he pulled he close and embraced her like a father would. "Its okay," he chided, gently rocking her back and forth. "You'll be oaky."

"Its not me I'm worried about," she said bravely. "Its you."

Hours seemed to pass while they stood there swaying, almost dancing in the eerie glow of the street light. "we should probably get,uh, home, I guess?" Zuko said after a while.

"Yeah."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Zuko turned the key in the lock quietly as to not disturb the neighbors. Little did he know that behind that door was a very uncofortable situation.

The first thing that Katara noticed about the apartment was that it was small. Enough room for one person- and not many more. Quietly, they explored the rooms. Living room, bathing room, then- the bedrooms. What made them blush first, was the fact that there were two. One for Ursa and one for a guest. _A _guest. There wasn't much but a single chair in the living room, and neither one of them would sleep on it. They looked at eachother with an expression of; 'I trust you.'

Its not like anything was going to happen between them that wasn't PG in the first place. God no, they were just kids! So Katara took off her outer robe, revealing a silk under tunic. No big deal, it was long enough- to wasn't too low cut, and as long as they slept facing differnt directions, Ursa wouldn't think anything was up.

"Night?" Katara asked awkwardly.

"Yup?"


	12. Day Of

**WARNING**!- _ I think this story is getting mushier every chapter, there will be much more action-y action in the next few chapters, so let me be mushy dammit!! (Srry, young fragile ears. I have issues.)_

Chapter 11

Waking seconds after sun-up, Zuko got out of bed quietly as to not disturb Katara. What he wouldn't give to sleep in for one day. He found himself envying the sleeping waterbender and slapped himself mentally. Sighing, he opened the door and walked into the small apartment. In the light, it looked even smaller. Though its less than capacious size, it seemed homey. It was clean and organized; just like home used to be. Silently, Zuko walked over to a small table with two drawers. Above it hung a mirror and n old,dying plant sat on top of it. Paintings dotted the walls. He wondered if his mother was home yet. The prince hadn't realized how defening the silence that surrounded him had become, until, that is, he heard a soft voice coming from the doorway.

"Zuko?" Katara asked sleepily, squinting against the light pouring throught the windows.

"Morning," he smiled.

Katara smiled lightly back. "Whatcha lookin' at?" She asked noticing him leaning onto the table with his palms.

"Oh." Zuko said back. He swept his hand across the wall, gesturing to the pictures. In the silent moment that took place between them, Katara found herself wondering how this boy could be the same volatile person that she met nearly one year ago. _Actually_, she thought, _he isn't. He's changed, he's changed so much._ Katara felt herself blushing deeply and tears pricking the backs of her eyes. She saw how perfect he had become, how perfect he had always been. She knew what was going to happen that night; she'd have to bloodbend something. The one that was nearest to her. For so long she had worried about hurting Aang or Sokka. Even Momo or Appa. But that had alwayse been a different kind of fear. Not like this, not how she felt about hurting Zuko. "Are you alright?" Zuko asked, clearly worried.

"I can't be near you tonight. I can't be near anyone that I love. I'm a monster," hearing herself say _'monster' _made her feel sick.

"You're going to be fine. I'm not going to let you hurt yourself, I don't care what you do to me, but I won't let you out of my sight."

"You don't understand!" Katara yelled, "If I hurt you now, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I can't hurt you. Even though your people killed my mother, tore apart my tribe, and burned everything I had to the ground, I can't see that in you. Before, before this happened to us, I would have loved to have blood bended the hell outta you! But now that I see you are a person; I can't."

"Why? Just a few days ago, you would have loved to kill me; you said it yourself," his gold eyes flickered around her face, looking meticulosly over her for any flinching features. He found none; she stood there under his gaze with a scared,suprised look frozen on her face. She stared directly at him, her face unmoving.

"Because." She said finally. "I have to go do... something..." She stuttered, trying desprately to find a way out of the conversation at hand. After seven silent moments of searching she found what she was looking for. "I have to make preperations for tonight. Full moon and all..." As she turned away she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned back to face Zuko, who looked sadly serious.

"Say it," he said.

Defiantly, Katara pretended to be unaware of his question.

"Say it," Zuko persisted, a small smile breaking over his face. The water tribe girl remained silent, debating on weather or not she _could _say "it". Her heart had so many scars, so many tears soaked into it, that she _never _said that word anymore. She couldn't afford to. At least not until the moon began waning, that is. Once he saw her at her most powerful, yet most vulnerable, he surely would not feel the same way. He'd either be terrified of her, or look down on her once again. "Come on," Zuko insisted. "I know you want to say it. I can see it; its written all over your face. Unless, that says chicken instead?"

Katara opened her mouth in a gasp, which quickly turned into a laugh. "You are so mean," she laughed. All of a sudden, the sadness was gone, just like that. She didn't know how or why, but here she was, not a wink of sadness in her mind anymore.

"I guess I'm just a mean person," Zuko continued with a shrug. The two teens laughed quietly for a minute, then Zuko grabbed Katara's hand. "I obviously can't get you to talk; so I'm pressured to use force." He saw the girl's eyes widen. He knew what she was thinking;'_Force?' _Slowly, Zuko leaned in to kiss Katara. To his suprise she was moving closer too.

It was only when she could feel his breath that Katara woke up from her trance, screamed and jumped back away form him. "No!" She yelled. "Don't do that! Please."

Stepping away from her, Zuko whispered, "I'm sorry." For a long time, they were silent. Thinking, regretting; both of them. "_What was so wrong_?" They both wondered. "_What if- it hadn't been stopped_?" Minutes seemed to pass like hours in the deafening silence.

Nearly inaudibly, Katara whispered, "I- I have to go." As she turned to leave she asked herself, _' Where?'_ '_Anywhere_,' her mind responded. She turned the handle on the door and Zuko watched her walk away, wanting so badly to run after her.


	13. Full Moon

_I was waiting till a full moon to put this on, and my favorite number is nine... sooo here it is!!!!! At 1159PM! Just before the day is over! HA!_

**Chapter 12**

Rain pounded on the roof of the apartment building. The sky had turned grey, and was foggy with clouds. Mid-day had come and gone for Katara alone. She seated herself beside a small pond, welcoming the rain on her face. She surveyed the landscape before her; a small town with two or three shops, four or five homes and one apartment building. The roads were all packed dirt and there were a few cobblestones placed around the buildings almost like a sidewalk. Once again, Katara felt a need to bend. 'Its just the rain,' she tried to convince herself. Quietly, she looked up and in seeing the faint outline of the full moon she snapped her head back down. For hours she listened to the patter of rain on the grass and to the _plop _of it on the water. This was how she would have to spend the rest of the night... alone.

Oddly, Katara felt as if she was proud of herself. Running away, and hurting the one she loved. To protect him. She smiled, it was like watching a play... and a dramatic one at that! A scene unfolded in her mind; she was standing beside a tree, the moon over head, her face was in her hands. A once elegant dress hung just above her knees, having been torn from its floor-length state. Her hair was coming out of a bun behind her head in strands. Suddenly, she saw her own head tilt up and to the side. [Enter Zuko.] He took her hand and instantly, her sobbing stopped and a smile broke across her lips. "Its nothing to be ashamed of," the prince whispered in her ear. "You can't controll it." Just as they were about to kiss, Katara woke up from her trance. Exactly like that morning.

The waterbender found herself crying in real life. WHY did she tourture herself with these- fantasy worlds? A pain shot through her body, making her stand straight up. Suddenly, she was aware of the darkening sky. Her heart lept. "Don't" she muttered to herself. "Please don't!"

"Thank God I found you!" Zuko said, walking up to her.

"GO AWAY!" Katara yelled, then almost silently she begged, "Please. Please just go."

Zuko moved closer, he clearly wasn't one to do what he was told. "I know your mad," he explained, inching toward her. "But, its getting late," he looked up to the sky. "The moon-" He stopped and glanced at Katara. Her eyes narrowed on him, her mouth was in a small, scrunched frown, and she was raising her hand... at him. Before he could move, he felt himself being lifted by the wrist several feet above the ground. Then dropped. This time, he ran. Katara followed him as quickly as she could, but he remained just out of reach. As though from a distance, Katara saw herself chasing him. "STOP!" she screamed. There was the slightest hesitation in her body, but she kept moving. Her feet looked as if they were flying above the slick grass. Blindly, she raised her hand; and with all the strength she had in her body- she threw herself down on the ground. Unfortunately, she recovered.

Zuko only looked behind him once, that was when he heard a thud on the ground. For a moment, he rankled in his mind weather or not to go help the girl up. He couldn't. After about thirty minutes of running as fast as they vould, both teens were tired. But one didn't feel it, and the other did. Zuko quickly ducked befind a tree to catch his breath. Frankly, he didn't know that Katara could run so fast. Before he was ready, he pushed off the tree and began seeking shelter around the corner of a building. He jumped around the building, and after listening for a minute, peeked around the corner. She was gone. Reluctantly, he allowed himself to step out into the open. A midingt breeze swept through the grass, and except for his own heart beating, there was silence. Suddenly, he became worried... not for himself, for Katara. What if she'd gotten hurt-

Before he could finish his though, Zuko found himself flat on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. He strained to lift his head, only wishing he wouldn't have looked in the first place. Katara stood over him with her hands bent almost unnatrually. She lifted him back up; first to his knees, then on his feet. Katara looked the boy directly in the eyes, he seemed to be pleading to her. With tears in her own eyes, she looked away from him; having come around just enough to controll herself. "Now, you see. Don't you?" she asked, a slight oddness hung around her voice. "This is what happens to me. EVERY full moon. You can't possibly look at me the same way ever again."

Quietly Zuko started, "No, I can't." He saw Katara lower her head in shame. "You are stronger than I ever thought you could be. By having faults, you are human. And your only fault, isn't as bad as my many. I chose my actions. You couldn't."

Sharply turning, Katara said through tears, "You don't get it, do you! If I... I could have killed you. Easily! I don't know why I did---" her voice broke off, as though she had fallen asleep. With out so much as a whimper, she sat down on the grass and looked up at the moon. She could see Hama's face engraved into it; smiling at her, like she was her puppet. And Zuko, he was the puppet's puppet. "You can't trust me." She muttered after a long while. Zuko sat down beside her, though she did not take her eyes off the moon. She looked down at her hands, then wrapped Zuko in a hug. "I'm sorry," she murmured with tears rolling down her face. "I am so sorry."


	14. Woah

**DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SPOILERS!!!! SPOILERS!!!!!**

_**Me**__*__**Twitches eye**__*-- Mushy romance time!_

_**Leonardo DaVinci**__-- UGH! I hate that part_

_**Me**__--Suck it up Leo!_

_**Leo**__- But I don't wanna!_

_**Me-- **__Oh well, I wrote another mushy kiss and you are gonna like it!_

_***Leo Pouts and throws his paintbrush away***_

**^And that my friends, is why the Mona Lisa has no EyeBrows! I prevented davinci from finishing. He is such a Pouty Pants!^**

**Chapter 13**

"Did you really think that I wouldn't like you after tonight?" Zuko asked, not needing an answer. Katara, whose head was laying on his shoulder, nodded. She was still crying. Zuko had never told anyone this; but he hated to see any girl cry. Bringing up the topic, he asked; "You still upset?" Once again, Katara nodded. The fire prince smiled at her in an attempt to lift her spirits. "You have only ever cried around me before once. That was back in the caves in Ba Sing Se." Silently, he blinked, remembering that an argument about Ba Sing Se is what landed them there in the first place. "And, back then, you hid your face. Now you don't. You know what that means?"

"No. I don't know if I want to either," the girl responded, lifting herself from his shoulder.

"It means you like me," he said back. For the first time that night, he saw her happy. She laughed at his seriousness, apparently thinking it was a joke.

"I wouldn't call it that. Its more like I understand you, and I trust you. And, I see you. For the first time, I actually see you. Before you were just a monster with a pony-tail." She smiled at the memory, blushing a little bit. "You know that, we- we can't be like this when we get back. You and I have to hate each other again. We will have to pretend like nothing like this ever happened."

"I never liked you. I never hugged you. I never kissed you."

"Actually, you didn't. We came close. But it didn't happen, remember?" Even though Katara was a little uncomfortable talking about this to Zuko, she had to admit, it was easy.

"Oh," Zuko said looking looking over his shoulder like he had been looking for someone. "I suppose I'll just have to tell the truth on that one." He gave Katara a couple seconds, then said, "On the other hand, we're going to lie about everything else... why not one more."

"Your right."

"Why Not?" He (again) started to move closer to her,

Katara's breath came , slowly at first. Then, her whole world exploded- right in front of her face. "Woah," Katara breathed when they separated. "I, uhm, I wasn't expecting..."

"Me either."

Katara put her hands on her face in frustration. "This is... how can we pretend like that didn't happen? How can we pretend that we felt nothing? I know for a fact, that that- that wasn't nothing. It was FAR from nothing... it was... everything." She stood up and began walking in circles. Pacing was one of her bad habits. "It was like riding a roller coaster that was on fire in the pouring rain." She turned to face Zuko, her heart stammering out words. "I think... I... that was- an-and then... but- I'm supposed to hate you. I'm just so confused!"

" Are you scared?" Zuko asked. He stood up and put a hand on Katara's shoulder. Quickly she turned to him, her eyes gave him all the answer he needed.

"Just a little," she lied.

Zuko walked with Katara back to his mother's apartment. "Me too." He admitted quietly.

****************************************

The next morning came too early. Since they had been up all night, running for their lives, neither one was ready to get up. Katara opened her eyes and her first thought was; "Ohmigod. We slept in the same bed. Twice! Thats just great! What next? Wearing the same clothes... at the same time!" Instantly she was thrown into a fit of laughter. Laughter that woke Zuko, who,suprisingly, had a smile on his face. "What?" He asked, dazed.

Katara's laugher didn't stop, her heart was leaping in her chest; she felt like... Toph! "I- I was so worried about- stupid little things and now- hahahahahahahah!" She couldn't put her emotions into words. She was so... relieved and hystarical all at the same time that everything came out as laughter. In fact, her laughing made Zuko crack a smile. Then, a laugh of his own. "I'm just... _happy_!" Slowly, her laughter faded. She layed there and let her head roll to the side so she could see the firebender next to her. "I had **the **best dream--of all time!"

"About...?" Zuko questioned. The girl smiled and sat up. "If I tell you, it won't come true. Will it?" She replied with another smile. Quietly, she pulled on her dark blue outter tunic.

"Hey," Katara started, turning back to Zuko. "What if we can't find them? What if I never see my brother again? What if I never see _Aang _again?"

Zuko felt his own face become sad. "You like him, don't you?"

Katara gasped. "How could you even--"

"Come on! Katara, I've seen you two. He really likes you."

"But I don't like him. I thought I did, a long time ago. But as each day passed he just became... childish. Yes, I think he needs me. But I feel more like his _mother _than anything. Why are you still so... closed? I don't understand. I wish you could just talk to me." Katara was on the verge of tears-again. Zuko had this thing where he could be happy one minute then the next minute--he would be staring you down ready to kill you. She wasn't sure if she could handle it. But, she had to admit, she liked it.


	15. I'm Not Even Going to Ask

Dang it! Why is it that as soon as i get one chapter done, my com-freakin'-puter looses all its typing ablilities. Seriously. All the computers i touch DIE! WAH! So, here is the re written version of chappie 14.

**PREVIOUSLY:**

_"Hey," Katara started, turning back to Zuko. "What if we can't find them? What if I never see my brother again? What if I never see Aang again?"_

_Zuko felt his own face become sad. "You like him, don't you?"_

_Katara gasped. "How could you even--"_

_"Come on! Katara, I've seen you two. He really likes you."_

_"But I don't like him. I thought I did, a long time ago. But as each day passed he just became... childish. Yes, I think he needs me. But I feel more like his mother than anything. Why are you still so... closed? I don't understand. I wish you could just talk to me." Katara was on the verge of tears-again. Zuko had this thing where he could be happy one minute then the next minute--he would be staring you down ready to kill you. She wasn't sure if she could handle it. But, she had to admit, she liked it._

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Chapter 14**

Katara stretched as if to push away Zuko's hurtful comments. She had been hurt many times by others in the past; Jet, her father, even Sokka. They had all insulted her, made her feel worthless and small. But hearing someone that she had put so much faith into tell her that he didn't trust her made her feel worse. 'I just wish that he would talk to me.' she thought, echoing herself. "We've got to go back..." Katara heard herself say. Suddenly, she turned toward Zuko. "And NOT because I care about Aang! Not that I do. If I did I wouldn't be here."

"Your-" Zuko started.

"Rambling again, I know... It happens when I-"

"No, I mean... your necklace. You're not wearing it."

Katara put her hand up to her neck and gasped. It was there! Right there! On her neck last night! Like a cat, she jumped on the bed and began tearing off the sheets and blankets and pillows, frantically searching for her necklace. 'It must have just fallen off while she was sleeping.' She looked up breifly to see Zuko helping her tear apart the room. She almost smiled, but resumed over turning the matress. "Its gone! Zuko! Where the Hell could it have gone! I can't function without it!" she put a hand on her head. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"The Pond!" they both said simultaniously. At that moment, Ursa knocked on the door. "Come in," they said.

Ursa took one look at the mess and said, "I won't even ask."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come on!" Zuko yelled frustrated.

"Just get in the water, Zuko!" Katara commanded, putting her fists on her hips. The water rippled as she moved toward Zuko. "If you don't get in the water, I swear to God I'll-"

Zuko smirked. "You'll what?"

With out thinking, Katara grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him into the shallow water. They both fell with a splash into the pond, landing awkwardly on top of one another. "HEY!" Katara shreiked. "'Hey' yourself!" Zuko yelled back. "This is your fault!"

"Whats my fault? That YOU landed on top of me!"

"Yes. It is." Katara could feel Zuko getting angry. He had this weird habbit of getting really hot when he was angry... and really red when he was embarassed.

"Oh, calm down. I'm only teasing." Katara said, her humor leaving her. She pushed Zuko off of her and stood up in the muddy water. "Ew." she observed, shaking mud off her arm.

"You have to understand. I need to capture the avatar to regain something I've lost. My honor. Perhaps in exchage I can restore something you've lost." The prince pulled her mother's neclace from his sleeve. Was he wearing it as a bracelet?

"My mother's necklace!" She yelled, "Where did you find that?"

"I didn't steal it, if thats what you're thinking."

"You- tied me to a tree!" Katara said without warning.

"What?" Zuko asked standing up.

"Yeah, the last time I lost my necklace. You tied me to a tree." She covered her mouth, hiding her smile.

"Yeah but that was a long time ago..."

"But you wore it as a bracelet."

"The tree?"

"The necklace!"

"Oh, yeah."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Zuko looked down at the water and caught a glipse of something. It glinted in the midmorning sunlight. He bent down and picked up the peice of jewlry. "Found it." He smiled. Gently, he warmed his hands to dry the trinket out. "Here." The prince dropped the necklace into Katara's hands. She smiled excitedly and handed it back to him. Understanding the gesture, Zuko stepped behind Katara and carefully tied it around her neck. (A/N: Now that is like something out of Titanic, no? AND Normally, this is the part where some one does something to break the awkward silence that is taking place, but I'll let this one slide.) Silently, Katara turned around and smiled at Zuko. "Thank you," she muttered.

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"I'm not even going to ask." Ursa restated as she looked over the two soaking wet kids in her house. "I won't even wonder."

* * *

**I really hate this chapter, but its okay I guess. I was having a terrible time with finding a computer that would allow me to type. I really think I'm cursed. Oh well. I guess its cause I'm gonna be a freshman. I heard that nineth grade is cursed. Yeah, thats it. I'm cursed. Joy.**


	16. Afraid

**PREVIOUSLY:**  
_"You- tied me to a tree!" Katara said without warning._

_"What?" Zuko asked standing up._

_"Yeah, the last time I lost my necklace. You tied me to a tree." She covered her mouth, hiding her smile._

_"Yeah but that was a long time ago..."_

_"But you wore it as a bracelet."_

_"The tree?"_

_"The necklace!"_

_"Oh, yeah."_

_"Why?"_

_"I don't know." Zuko looked down at the water and caught a glipse of something. It glinted in the midmorning sunlight. He bent down and picked up the peice of jewlry. "Found it." He smiled. Gently, he warmed his hands to dry the trinket out. "Here." The prince dropped the necklace into Katara's hands. She smiled excitedly and handed it back to him. Understanding the gesture, Zuko stepped behind Katara and carefully tied it around her neck. (A/N: Now that is like something out of Titanic, no? AND Normally, this is the part where some one does something to break the awkward silence that is taking place, but I'll let this one slide.) Silently, Katara turned around and smiled at Zuko. "Thank you," she muttered._

______________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 15**

"No, its okay. Really, Ursa." Katara said half heartedly as she filled her canteen with fresh water from the well. "We'll be fine. But we need to find Aang and my brother and Toph. They kinda need us there." She shook the canteen beside her ear to see if it was full. With a little frown she dipped it back into the bucket, letting out what air was left inside. In all honesty, she liked the fact that she was waking up in the same place each morning, that she wasn't always sitting down and being careful not to fall off a giant flying bison. But she was always taught that duty comes before want, and she was told that what she wanted, should always be in best intrest of the people around her. Tightening the lid to her canteen, Katara turned to face Ursa. "I wish we could stay. I really do. Thank you so much for your kindness and understanding. I only wish I could give you and Zuko more time. Its so unfair..."

Ursa smiled. "My job is to take care of the needy. As a mother, yes, it will be hard and seem unfair. But as a doctor, a healer, its like seeing a bird take its first flight. I want you and Zuko to go where you are needed. We'll meet again. I'm sure of it."

"Thats something I really admire about you. Your optimism, and hope. I have never met anyone, aside from my own mother, who was as hopeful as you. She always knew exactly when and where to step in... just like you. Being around you was like having my own mother back. I'm really going to miss you." Confessions weren't something that came easily to Katara, but some how she managed to tell this woman everything. "Good bye."

As Katara walked away, Ursa addressed her son. "You take care of that girl. If I find out anything has happened to her on your watch, I will hunt you down and hit you over the head with a very heavy mallet." They both laughed, even though there was the deepest urge to break down inside of each of them. Instead, however, of letting the gloom in their hearts show, they manufactured sunlight. Just to make the other happy. "Remember, I'm holding you responsible for that girl. Remember, I'll always be right here." She held a hand gracefully over her own heart. "Maybe in the back, somewhere deep down, burried under other loves. But, I'll be there, nevertheless." Zuko nodded and joined Katara over by the well. Quietly, they looked at each other and started walking carefully down the beaten path.

"Do you think they are looking for us?" Was Katara's ultimate question for the hour or so. She kept looking up to the sky, as if she expected to see a fuzzy, though-to-be-extinct animal flying overhead. Katara would have given anything to see her brother again. She was willing to deal with the constant traveling and the excess amount of shedding hair and the motion sickness day and night, just to be with her two best friends again. And Aang. It'd be nice to see him too.

"I don't see why they wouldn't be. We are part of their team... and how can an incomplete team function?"

Before she could stop herself, Katara replied bitterly, "We functioned without you for almost a year." Realizing what she said, she quickly took it back. "Thats not what I meant..." She started.

"I know." Zuko said cooly.

"How is it that you know everything?" Katara asked as she crossed her arms.

"I don't."

"Then how is it that you always just know?

"I don't know."

Katara smiled. "So NOW you 'don't know'? How convenient."

"I hate you. Do you know that?"

"Oh, you know you love me!"

"Eh, Maybe."

"Whats that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know."

Katara flung into her fighting stance and bent the water from the canteen on her waist. "Stop that before I have to use our drinking water to kick your ass!"

"You wouldn't!" Zuko laughed tauntingly.

"Wanna bet?"

Zuko shifted into a fighting stance as well, silently answering with his raised hands. Katara smirked, then flung water at his face. Quickly he vaporized it with a blast of fire and stepped a few inches closer to his target. Without fire, he threw a punch that landed purposely a few inches to the left of her face. Seeing an opportunity, the waterbender grabbed his out streached arm. The boy's eyes widened as he realized he'd just lost. He let the girl throw him to the ground and surrendered, laughing.

"You giving up?" Katara asked lightly. "Why don't I believe that?"

"Cause, I'm not." With that he jumped to his feet and pinned the waterbender to a tree. "I win!"

"Hey! Thats no fair! You gave up! CHEATER!" Katara laughed. "Get off!"

"Nah, I don't think I will. You know, this is where rope comes in handy."

"Oh, so your going to tie my to this tree?"

"If I had rope. But I don't. So, it looks like I have to let you go."

Zuko let go of the girl who bowed and said jokingly, "I am _so _fortunate that you, good sir, were here to save me from being tied to a tree. I owe you my life."

_____________________________________________________________________________

By the time they had gotten their barrings, it was already midday and the heat was unbearable. The odd thing was, they each thought that the heat didn't bother the other as much as it was bothering them. Katara thought that since Zuko was a firebender, he was used to extreme heat. Judging by the red scar on his face, it looked like he had experienced the power of fire up close and personal. The thought of fire burning into a child's skin for nothing more than talking out of turn made her sick to her stomache. She could feel the pain of each flame biting her own face. Wincing, she flickered her eyes away from the boy to her right. It hurt too much to look at him. In that moment, Katara wondered how strong someone had to be to go through something like that and still have the courage to wake up every morning and fight for what they thought was right. Maybe that is why he refused to let anyone get close to him. "I won't hurt you, you know."

Zuko's eyes moved lazily toward the waterbender at his side. "I wasn't afraid. I don't get scared."

"Well then," Katara said as a matter of factly. "I guess you lied to me huh?"

"What?

Rolling her eyes, the girl replied; "The other night. You asked me if I was afraid that I loved you. I said yes. And you said that you were afraid too."

"Its complicated." Zuko put curtly. He wasn't afraid of fire. Of the dark, or monsters. He had no reason to fear water or animals. But the one thing he was afraid of, was love. Love, the very opposite of fear and hate. The thought of letting someone get so close they could get inside his mind and mess everything up made him cringe. "Just drop it." He felt a cool hand curl over his own. Katara looked up at him. He was afraid of her. He was... _scared_.

* * *

**Oh boy, another chapter up. I don't really like this one either, but I promised a finished story by the time school starts, so I've been huddled over the computer fighting off writers' block with a giant pot of coffee! Lol, just kidding. But Seriously, I spent like, two whole days writing this. Review please! IF YOU DON'T THE CREEPY PALM PRE LADY WILL COME THROUGH YOUR TV AND TALK YOU TO DEATH!!!!!!!!**

**She Poe**


	17. Bring Me To Life

This chappie was based on Evenescence's Bring Me To Life, which i can't get out of my head!

**_Previously:_**

_Zuko's eyes moved lazily toward the waterbender at his side. "I wasn't afraid. I don't get scared."_

_"Well then," Katara said as a matter of factly. "I guess you lied to me huh?"_

_"What?_

_Rolling her eyes, the girl replied; "The other night. You asked me if I was afraid that I loved you. I said yes. And you said that you were afraid too."_

_"Its complicated." Zuko put curtly. He wasn't afraid of fire. Of the dark, or monsters. He had no reason to fear water or animals. But the one thing he was afraid of, was love. Love, the very opposite of fear and hate. The thought of letting someone get so close they could get inside his mind and mess everything up made him cringe. "Just drop it." He felt a cool hand curl over his own. Katara looked up at him. He was afraid of her. He was... scared._

**________________________________________________________________________________________________________**

**Chapter 17**

Hours passed in silence, but they were filled with miles of rolling green hills. The air still had that early summer scent to it; you know... grass, the remnents of flowers, salt water and sand. There was really only the accidental bumping into each other that remided the teens that they weren't alone. "Oh, sorry." Zuko said when his arm hit Katara's side. The girl nodded and looked quickly up at him. Her eyes looked different... troubled. "Whats wrong?" --_ How can you see into my eyes, like open doors_--

Katara's heart lept, how did he know...? "Nothing." She lied, careful not to look in his eyes again. I hate this, her mind said.

"No, there's something wrong." He didn't like being lied to. At all. A warm summer breeze washed over them, and Katara hoped it would erase the past five seconds of her life... like waves washing away your name in the sand. But it didn't. The feeling of being shut out still ate at Zuko. It was then he realized that he couldn't take what he dished out. "I'll talk to you if you talk to me." He promised. Katara kept walking but nodded again. The boy sighed then admitted, "This won't be easy. For me or for you, so listen. You know the story that we told my mother. The outside story. But not the one inside. I knew you hated me from the beggining. Everyone has hated me at one point. I really thought nothing of it. But when we were in that cave in Ba Sing Se, you forgave me. And I know you meant it. No one had forgiven me or bothered to ask themselves how I felt about this war in three years. You were the first person I let touch my scar. Because you were different. Because you understood my pain." Katara put her hand over her mouth.

"Thats-- thats not true. Your lying to me. Aren't you?" She choked, once again on the verge of tears.

"Don't cry, please. And no, this is the truth."

"Well STOP! I don't want to hear it any more! This is all too surreal. I'm FINE! I just..." Her voice broke off and she wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. "I just need to know that I shouldn't be afraid to care too much because I'm afraid that you don't care at all!" --_Leading you down into my core where it becomes so known... my spirits' sleeping somewhere cold until you find it there and lead it back home--_

Immediately Zuko realized that he'd been hurting Katara since the first time she hinted that she liked him. --_Wake me up_--

"That wasn't easy either." Katara said, swaying away from him. --_Wake me up inside, I can't wake up, wake me up inside, save me_--

"Katara!" Zuko said, hurt. --_Call my name and save me from the dark_-- "You have to tell me what you want..."

"Just... stop..." She pleaded. Zuko followed her as she drifted into the grass on the side of the road. She looked down at the ground and he looked down at her. Then, he kissed her, without hesitation or even a thought about it. --_Wake me up_-- Katara felt the blood run through her body and her heart began to race as a whole second passed. --_Bid my blood to run, before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become.--_ As she pulled away, Zuko could see her shaking. He could tell she was confused... so was he. But he also knew that they had to be together. He didn't feel right before, when he was with Mai. --_Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me--_

Never. Katara swore that she would never actually fall in love. Or let a guy kiss her like that with out making sure he'd never have kids. 'Mom, please help me. If I ever needed advice, now would be the time.' Her eyes closed and she saw her mother nod. Thats all she needed. --_Breathe into me and make me real_-- Suddenly, Katara felt like her whole body was lighter. She smiled. --_Bring me... to life_-- And with a smile on her face she wrapped her arms around him (Think: Southern Raider's hug, but a little more romantic ^_^) --_Wake me up, Wake me up inside--_ "I'm not afraid."

Zuko smiled. --_I can't wake up, wake me up inside, save me--_

"Zuko..." --_Call my name and save me from the dark_-- Katara's voice shook. "I know what I want."

"What?"

"This. Forever." -_-Bid my blood to run. Before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become.-_-

He laughed. "Me too." -_-Bring me to life--_

"Aang?" Katara whispered. She and Zuko let go of one another. "AANG! SOKKA! APPA! DOWN HERE!" She screamed. They saw a small white speck fly off the bison's shoulder. Katara turned excitedly to Zuko. She mouthed, 'never happened.' "Quick, get angry at me!" Zuko scowled at her and she looked ready to slap him by the time Appa landed with a thud only thiry paces away. "Sokka!" Katara shrieked as she tackled her brother.

"You're okay!" Sokka grinned. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Zuko. "If I find out you laid a finger on my little sister, I'll-"

"No, Sokka. He didn't." Katara looked sadly at Zuko.

"Didn't... Katara, have you seen your face. Okay, I know. That sounded odd. But still. He burned you, didn't he. He burned you and forced you to keep it a secret. Its okay, you can tell me. It'll just make me kill him even faster.

"Sokka, listen to me. Zuko didn't do this purposely. He lit a fire and while I was warming some water I got burned. Its okay. He actually helped me."

______________________________________________________________(the Depressing montage)_______________________________________________________

A few weeks later, Zuko and Katara were back to acting like they hated each other. But thats all it was; an act. Deep inside, they both were screaming. Their hearts were breaking, and longing for another reason to get lost. Days passed so slow, Katara had to bite her lip so she wouldn't just kiss him. _--Frozen in time without your touch, without your love--_ At night when Katara laid down to sleep she blew out her candle and closed her eyes. But in the back of her mind a light was always lit. The full moon that caused her heart so much pain glowed constantly. Her nightmares grew worse every night. Each day grew darker. But when she allowed her eyes to flicker to him, she saw light. -_-darling you are the only light among the dark_--

Zuko could only wonder how before they had gotten captured he'd hated her. All he could do back then was make her upset. And want to hurt her. But now, he had to force himself to make one nasty remark about her hair loopies. -_-All this time I can't believe I couldn't see. Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me.--_

Monotony. Everyday... exactly the same. Wake up. Fly on Appa. hate on Zuko. want to kiss him. sleep. --_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems. Gotta open my eyes to everything.--_

Days passed. Zuko reflected._ --Without thought with out a voice without a soul--_ He'd been so mean. He could barely live with himself.

"Zuko, can I talk to you?" katara asked late one night. "I HATE YOU!" She screamed as they hid behind a tree. "Listen, I'm going crazy here. I need help." She whispered. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"ME! LISTEN HERE PEASANT..."

"I don't want this to go away. I still love you." She kept her voice down. "I AM NOT TAKING ORDERS FROM YOU!"

"I know... but, we just have to keep our distance."

"I'll die..." _--Don't let me die here--_

"Don't even say that. I'll never let anything happen to you. Even if I have to kill my self. I'll die before you do."_ --Bring me to life--_

"I miss you!" She hugged him quickly. --_Wake me up inside, Wake me up, wake me up inside--_

"YEAH, YOU BETTER GET OUT OF HERE!" _--Save me--_

Quietly, katara crawled back into her sleeping bag. Still wanting, still wondering. There had to be a way... there had to be. With that thought in h er mind, she gently fell back asleep. Not too long after, she was awoken by a strange sound. Quickly, her blue eyes snapped open. She saw the outline of a tall man near the knapsacks. She pushed down the covers to her sleeping bag and whispered, "Sokka, get out of the stuff!" Only then did she realize that it wasn't Sokka. Thieves. Just as the girl opened her mouth to scream, some one grabbed her and held a hand over her mouth.

O.o O.o O.o

A scream rang through Zuko's dreams. He woke with a start to find Katara bound and a bunch of people around her. Instinctivly, he rushed at them with a burst of fire. _I'll die before you._ The rest of the gang woke up seconds later. "Get Katara!" Zuko yelled as he shot flames at one of the six men that were now coming after him. --_Call my name and save me from the dark-_- Sokka rushed to his baby sister and untied her. Katara's heart skipped a beat as she watched Zuko get puched. _--Bid my blood to run-_- He got back to his feet quickly and fought off the last of the men. Katara looked at him, nearly crying. If it wasn't for him, she'd be dead... or worse. She felt herself run toward him, and before she could stop herself, she hugged him.

--_Before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I've been living a lie. Nothing inside. Bring me to life.--_

_

* * *

_**Woah. Talk about crap. I had this song in my head all day. I can't sing worth crap, so I wrote about it. I know its short, choppy and suckish**, but I'll edit l**ater. Right now its 2:00AM and I'm Tired. Good night!**

**She Poe  
**


	18. For Zuko

**Chapter 17**

I am cursed! My laptop died... again! I don't just mean the battery either... no... it EXPLODED! (Figure of speech)

_**Previously**_

_A scream rang through Zuko's dreams. He woke with a start to find Katara bound and a bunch of people around her. Instinctivly, he rushed at them with a burst of fire. I'll die before you. The rest of the gang woke up seconds later. "Get Katara!" Zuko yelled as he shot flames at one of the six men that were now coming after him. --Call my name and save me from the dark-- Sokka rushed to his baby sister and untied her. Katara's heart skipped a beat as she watched Zuko get puched. --Bid my blood to run-- He got back to his feet quickly and fought off the last of the men. Katara looked at him, nearly crying. If it wasn't for him, she'd be dead... or worse. She felt herself run toward him, and before she could stop herself, she hugged him._

_--Before I come undone, save me from the nothing I've become. I've been living a lie. Nothing inside. Bring me to life.--_

________________________________________________

Zuko felt his heart race. Deep down he knew this day would come. He looked at Katara, who was standing to his right, carefully. Then, squinting his eyes darted back at his sister. "You're on." He said steadily. Though his eyes were fixed on the maniacal girl infront of him, Zuko caught a glimpse of the waterbender through the corner of his good eye. She stepped closer to him, almost reaching out to touch him.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. Goosebumps raced up her arms. "She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both. She's trying to seperate us." This was the most fear Katara had felt in her life. She just wanted to fall over and cry. But she knew she had to stay strong. For Zuko.

"I can take her this time." Zuko assured her, his eyes not leaving his sister. "She's slipping. And this way... no one else has to get hurt." Katara nodded but tears stung the backs of her eyes. He heard her breath shuddering... and he could hear her say '_Just be careful... Don't do any thing stupid... I love you.' _Suddenly, he felt her hand on his shoulder, and in that moment he prayed to the gods that he'd come out of this alive, not just for the rights to the throne, or the firenation, or the world. Or even himself. But for Katara. He couldn't let her be abandoned again. Not after everything they'd been through.

The Agni Kai started quickly, with few words exchanged between the two opponants. Heat rushed by both of them and threatened Katara, standing in the background. Each burst of fire, every punch, kick or movement that they made seemed as determined and as effortless as as the winds of a tornado or the crashing of waves against the shore. But Zuko felt an odd sensation... a drive to win that had never been there before, a _need _to win. A need to walk away from this as both FireLord and Katara's hero (And he knew damn well that he would be a much better hero than Aang could ever be). Exhaling deeply, he knocked Azula off her feet and sent her tumbling backwards. She stood up, gasping for breath.

"Whats the matter? No lightening today?" Zuko taunted without thinking. Katara moved closer, wanting to scream at him (**katara's thoughts**: _wtf Zuko! Seriously! What. the. Fuck?! Remind the psycho that she can controll one of the most powerful forces in the UNIVERSE! IDIOT!) _

Azula's eyes widened. "Oh! I'll show you lightening!" She warmed her hands with electricity and built up as much as she could safely hold in her body. Her narrowed eyes were focused on Zuko. That is, until she noticed the girl dressed in blue standing just behind him. She'd bring him down from the inside out. Her eyes sharply turned to Katara and she fired.

____________________________

Zuko had been ready for anything. Or so he thought. He could have handled what ever she was willing to throw at him. Anything and Everything but this. If he hadn't been paying attention to his sister's eyes, he never would have known. But the moment she broke eye contact with him he knew exactly what was going on. It was in that moment that he relived his entire life. _His mother. The scar. The Years of searching. The day he met her. The day he saved her from the pirates. Their time in Ba Sing Se. How they fell in love. The kiss. The times he saved her life. The hug_. But now, all he saw was a bolt of lightening coming straight toward her. And it wouldn't hurt her. _Take care of that girl. _A single word escaped from his mouth as he dove in front of her. "NO!" After that, he couldn't feel anything but pain.

_____________________________

She could have taken it. She would have moved. She would have done anything to save his life. But she couldn't understand why he would do that to her. Katara's world had stopped spinning the moment Zuko's body fell to the ground. She felt her mouth fall open in a silent scream, there was too much left to say. Too many words left unspoken, too many wounds left unmended. Too many pieces of her heart to put back together. It was only after rushing to help him that Katara had realized that Azula was now coming after _her_.

Quickly the waterbender made a plan and set it into motion. She dodged fire from left and right, just trying to find water of any kind. Finally, she found it, flowing plentiful beneath a vent. She grabbed a nearby chain and as she froze herself and Azula, yelled "For Zuko!"

Cold filled every inch of her body. Slowly, Katara exhaled through her nose and melted the ice around them. She gathered Azula's hands and chained them behind her back. Only then did she allow the water to fall back into the vent.

After catching her breath, Katara ran to Zuko. All she could do now was pray. Pray as she ran to him that she could help him. Pray as she turned him over that she would be mentally strong enough to handle this. Pray as she layed her hands on his skin that this wouldn't be the last time. Silently, her eyes shut and she put every power in her body to work. Every muscle, every thought and even every fear that creeped under her skin was dedicated to bringing Zuko home alive. Through out the whole battle she had pushed aside her love for him. But now, she screamed in her head. "_Zuko! I love you! Wake up, please! I love you! I _**love **_you!" _For a moment Zuko's body tensed and then relaxed. And a wave of relief crashed on both of them.

"Thank you, Katara." Zuko choked quietly.

"I'm the one that should be thanking you." Suddenly, Katara lost it. She started crying hystarically, but never turned away from him once. "God, I thought you were dead!" She sobbed. "Don't ever do that again!"

"Help me up." He whispered. Carefully, they walked over to Azula, keeping themselves a distance from her. Zuko held Katara's arm for support as they looked upon his younger and crazed sister. Then, he turned to Katara who had been looking up at him, not able to tear her eyes away from him. "Lets go." Zuko murmured (I can never spell that word right!).

"Can you--" Katara started, afraid to finish.

"I'll be fine." Zuko cut in, but he knew he was more hurt than what he was showing. As Katara pulled him onto Appa's saddle, he cringed in pain and let a gasp escape his lips. The pain started again. At first it was just a little twinge, but it spread slowly through his whole chest and arms. Before they had gotten too far, Katara had a hand on his wound again, gently cooling the newly scarred tissue. She hadn't realized, however, that she had been staring into his eyes... or that he had been staring back. "I'm sorry." Zuko said quietly.

"No, I was just angry and worried and... You saved my life. Why are you sorry?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt. And I didn't think about how hurt you'd be if something happened to someone you loved. But, I only did it because I still love you."

"How are we going to tell them?" Katara whispered, her blue eyes clear and bright. A heavy, cold feeling curled up in her chest. This would be one of the most difficult times in her life... How would Aang take it? How would _Sokka _take it? Mai would kill her. Her dad would kill Zuko. Oi Ve'!

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**Hi Guys! Okay, a little bit of a cliffie! Fine, a Major Cliffie. But I'll update ASAP. Next chapter will be the Last! Aren't you Sad? BUT! I have an Idea for a sequal, if you want one. It'll take place after the war, of course. But It will stay real and grounded. With love triangles and everything. Lemme know if you want it or not. **

**~She Poe**


	19. Goodbye

**Chapter 18**

**Previously:**

_"How are we going to tell them?" Katara whispered, her blue eyes clear and bright. A heavy, cold feeling curled up in her chest. This would be one of the most difficult times in her life... How would Aang take it? How would Sokka take it? Mai would kill her. Her dad would kill Zuko. Oi Ve'!_

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Appa landed with a thud next to Toph, Sokka, Suki and Aang. Katara's heart skipped a beat as she helped Zuko to the edge of the saddle. She yelled for the first person she saw. "Sokka! He's hurt!"

"Toph," The young warrior started, But was cut short.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Quickly she got into a stance and sent a platform of earth up the bison's side. First, Katara climbed onto the ledge, then gently pulled Zuko up to her. Toph could feel Katara's heart beating rapidly as she held the boy against her. For a moment, Toph thought about doing a little happy dance and singing that she knew it. But even _she _wasn't **that **blind; it was obvious that they were both hiding it. Or at least trying to. _ Just hold on. Please, Zuko. Keep breathing. _She breathed a shuddering breath as she brought water from her canteen and put her hands back on Zuko's damaged skin. From the corner of her eye, She saw Aang move a step closer to them, but Toph stopped him. She muttered something inaudibly but then added loudly, "Get it, Baldy?" Aang nodded, but didn't look hurt at all. Maybe it wasn't what she had thought it was.

"Zuko?" Katara whispered. Slowly, his eyes opened and turned to her. "Thank you." A smile broke over her lips. "You'll have a scar, but you'll be alright." Then, she silently picked up his hand and held it in hers, unafraid of what everyone else thought.

"~Cough~Florence Nightingale!~Cough~" Sokka 'Coughed'. He carefully eyed his sister and the boy laying on the ground next to her. _ How long... Why didn't I know? _

"Sokka, what happened?" Katara asked, leaving Zuko.

"He broke his leg when he fell off an air ship." Suki put simply. without another word, Katara went to work, healing everyone else in the group. Everyone noticed that she kept looking over her shoulder at Zuko, just to be sure he was okay. When everyone was healed, Katara went back to Zuko, hoping he was still alright.

"Katara, I'm okay. I promise." He said, sitting up. Finally, she smiled at him. Actually meaning it for the first time in a long time. She wrapped him in a grateful hug, careful not to smile afterwords.

"I'll trust you, Firelord Zuko. If you need anything at all..."

"I'll ask you first."

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The day of Zuko's coronation approached rapidly with nothing but a few shy glances toward Katara. It was those glances, though few and far between, that made Sokka want to kill Zuko. He had imagined how he was going to tell him to back off or to leave his little sister alone. After all, she was only 14, and Zuko was like, 16. Sokka promised himself that if that creep ever laid one finger... no- even thought about laying one finger on his baby sister, he would kill him. Without hesitation, too.

The day of his coronation, Zuko stood on the balcony of his room, thinking about what was going to happen that day. He leaned on the marble railing and watched the water crash onto the shore below, his mind in a completely different place. He hadn't noticed his eyes closing as he delved deeper into his own thoughts. His mind swirled through everything that had happened to him. He then realized that his mother could come back... she'd be able to be with him now. "How are you?" a quiet voice spoke coolly.

Slowly, Zuko turned to Katara, almost shaking with nervousness. "Nervous, yourself?"

Katara's eyes darted from the new scar on his chest to his eyes, pure gold eyes. "Anxious." she said, swallowing to keep herself grounded. "I, uh... I wanted to..." Shakily, she raised a hand to his shoulder. "Make sure you were alright..."

"Well, I don't know how to be fine when I'm not..." He dared to say. Katara's trembling immediately grew worse. "Its getting hard to be around you. Because there's so much I just can't say."

"Zuko... please..."

"I won't let you be with Aang. I can't." He gathered her up in his arms and embraced her.

"I..." She stuttered as she pulled away. Something inside her turned over and made her feel sick to her stomach. Silently, and aware of the consequences, she began leaning toward him and he moved closer to her too. Deep down she felt like this was wrong. What if someone came in and saw them? But she put all her feelings aside and kissed him. _One... Two... three... four... five.... _Five, breathless seconds passed slowly.

"Just so you know..." Zuko said as he broke away. "I haven't stopped loving you."

"I'll see you around." Katara walked back into Zuko's room and out into the corridor. Content

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Hours later, Katara stood in the front row at Zuko's coronation... right next to Mai. But while Mai was watching the coronation with little interest, Katara was absorbed in those golden eyes that she had fallen for. Their eyes didn't leave each other's the whole time. Just before The man crowned Zuko as firelord, Katara sent him a reassuring smile.

When everything was over with, Katara walked up to Zuko once again. The firelord welcomed her presence with a smile. "So, whats next for you?" He asked.

She kept herself from looking in his eyes. "I'm going home. I've been away from my friends and family too long. A-and that way, we won't be tempted to..."

"Oh," Zuko started, now he was the one averting her eyes. "I understand. But, when will I see you again?"

"Never. I'm going home and I don't want to cause anyone any more pain. My tribe needs me-"

"_I_ need you!" Zuko whispered angrily.

"Thats why I'm leaving Zuko."

"You can't just..." The firelord started, grabbing her hand.

"The only reason I'm leaving is because I don't want you t--"

Zuko quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking then he kissed her cheek. "Zuko! Anyone could have..."

"I don't care!"

"Goodbye."

"No!"

"I _said _**'Goodbye**!'" Katara tore her hand from his and stormed out of the palace in tears. "Dad," she said as she found Hakoda. "Lets go."

"Whats wrong, Katara?" he asked (like any father would).

"Nothing. I just want to go home."

Hakoda smiled and pointed out the ship that was taking them and the rest of the southern water tribe warriors back home. Katara boarded the boat and stood on the deck, looking at Zuko's balcony. Suddenly, the door opened and a dark figure came out of the room. "Whats wrong with Zuko?" Sokka asked.

Katara shifted and glanced at the boy standing solemnly above her. "I don't know." She lied.

Zuko saw a tiny glint as he peered over the balcony. He looked first at the moon, hanging almost full above the water. Then he looked down to the boats floating idle in the water. A small figure looked back up at him. He looked away, unable to cope with the pain he was feeling. He knew that the waterbender beneath him was feeling the same way. "Goodbye, Katara." He whispered.

"Goodbye," Katara mouthed.

The End

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**Not what you expected, Huh? You thought it would be a happy ending... no... sorry. THats what the sequal is for. Let me know if you will/ would read it if i wrote it. Thank you to all my reviewers, you know who you are. I love you all like brothers and/or sisters! I was listening to Just so you know by Jmac when i was writing this. Can you tell??? :-) Well, thats all she wrote (for now at least! ;-])**

**~She Poe  
**


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